


An Auspicious New Year

by magician



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Family, Future Fic, Holidays, M/M, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-29 14:21:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17204987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magician/pseuds/magician
Summary: Jim, Blair and Naomi spend the holidays together





	An Auspicious New Year

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2018 TS Secret Santa Extravaganza

"Mm-mm, Mom, that smells good!" Blair walked into the kitchen, intending on getting some coffee but instead pulling the lid off a large pot of simmering black-eyed peas.  He pulled a spoon from the silverware drawer and scooped some out of the pot, blowing to cool it off.  "It's great," he said. "Maybe a little more pepper, but otherwise, perfect."  
  
"I wasn't sure how spicy Jim likes it," Naomi said.  "You can season it."  
  
"Nah, I'll let him do it. I see you've got the collard greens chopped up. Are we gong to have cornbread, too?"  
  
She gave him an exasperated look.  "Of course. And a gingerbread Bundt cake with maple icing. But all of this is for tomorrow.  Tonight, Jim said he'd make his stir-fry with rice noodles and I've roasted grapes in balsamic vinegar to eat at midnight."  She wiped her hands and looked around.  "This all looks under control.  We can chop the veggies for tonight later.  Why don't we do something with the tree?"  
  
Just then, Jim came in, stamping his feet to knock the snow off his boots.  He was carrying a large load of firewood.  "Did I hear something about the tree?"  
  
"Yeah," Blair answered.  We're thinking of removing the ornaments and getting it ready to put outside."  
  
Jim looked at the tree they'd cut themselves and had standing in their cabin for the past two weeks. "I guess it's about ready, although it could probably last a few more days. Let me get out the ornament boxes," he said as he dropped the wood in the holder near the fireplace. He nodded his thanks to Naomi as he accepted a cup of coffee. "Is this a New Year's ritual, Naomi? Out with the old…?"  
  
She nodded.  "Yes, starting the new year with a clean slate.  Of course, there's not much to clean around here," she smiled.  
  
Blair carried the boxes to the tree and together the three removed and stored the ornaments and lights.  In deference to the environment, they'd forgone tinsel; strings of popcorn and cranberries adorned the tree instead.    
  
"So," Naomi said as the last of the decorations were stored, "we can either leave the tree in the stand and just put it upright in the yard, or we can lay it down.  Either way, it will provide good shelter for small animals and the berries and corn will help feed them."  
  
"After the string starts to disintegrate, birds can use it for nests," Blair added.  "Naomi, do we have peanut butter to make cones?" She nodded and he looked at Jim. "You're gonna love this.  We used to do it when I was a kid.  We'll take those pine cones we collected, smear them with peanut butter and roll them in some of that wild bird seed we bought.  Then we hang them all over the tree."  
  
Jim couldn't help but grin at Blair's enthusiasm.  Buying this cabin was one of the best ideas they'd had since becoming a couple.  They spent most of their vacation time here, it being suitable for year-round activities.  With three bedrooms and 1 ½ bathrooms, it was large enough for visitors, but turned cozy when they closed the upper floor and the two of them stayed downstairs.  It was far enough out of the city to commune with nature, but close enough to get back if needed. With a bonus of snow in the winter, it was ideal.    
  
When Naomi asked if she could visit for the new year, they decided to make a really nice holiday that included Solstice, Christmas and Hanukkah traditions.  
  
"Hey, Earth to Jim," Blair called out softly.  "Everything okay there, babe?"  
  
"Yeah, just thinking what a great idea it was for us to buy this place.  Are you ready to take out the tree?"  
  
Blair already had his coat and boots on and they carried it out to a far corner, deciding to stabilize it against some large boulders.  They then tramped back to the porch where Naomi had the pine cones and peanut butter waiting on the table.  "It's such a gorgeous day, I thought we could do this outside," she said.  "Less of a mess afterwards, as we can just brush any seeds right out into the snow."  
  
They finished just as the sun was setting. With one last admiring look at the transformed tree, they went inside.  Blair opened a bottle of wine and they stood around the counter, chopping vegetables and sharing stories.  Jim found through the years that he was able to pull out some good stories about his childhood and his time in the army. Not for the first time he wondered whether it was love that allowed him to finally lay to rest the painful parts of his past.  
  
Jim's vegetable stir-fry was perfect for the evening and they amused each other by comparing who had the longest noodles.  Dessert was apple fritters. The simple battered and fried rings of fruit, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, were a wintertime favorite.  Eschewing television, they played board games and cards until it was 15 minutes before midnight.  
  
Naomi brought out the roasted grapes. "Now, this is a tradition I learned in Spain, where they take this _very_ seriously. You need to take 12 grapes each," she explained while spooning them into three little bowls. "When midnight comes, you must eat one grape for every chime of the bell.  If you can do all twelve before the last bell chimes, you'll have twelve months of good luck."    
  
"What are we going to use for a chime?" Jim asked.  
  
"Oops," said Blair, looking around.  "No church nearby ringing their bells.  I guess I could use the stopwatch feature on my watch.  No chimes, but we'll set it for.. say… twelve seconds?"  They all agreed and sat down, with Blair popping up. "Almost forgot the champagne!" He pulled the bottle and three glasses out of the fridge.  
  
"Hurry up, Chief, or you're gonna lose all your luck before you start."  
  
"I'm here, I'm here."  When Blair clicked on the stopwatch, they started eating the grapes.  It was harder than expected.  Even with small grapes, trying to chew and swallow them to a timetable was difficult.  All three tried not to laugh at how ridiculous they looked, then Jim stopped at his sixth grape, closing his eyes.  "Naomi, these are delicious," he said dreamily. Blair snorted at Jim's reaction, then choked, spluttering "juice went down the wrong pipe" as Naomi smacked his back.  At that point, the stopwatch beeped. They looked at the grape remnants in their dishes, their sticky hands and stained faces and started laughing.    
  
Blair reached over to uncork the champagne and poured it into the glasses, handing them around.  "I guess we'll have to make our own luck this year," he said, as he raised his glass to toast the two most important people in his life.    
  
Jim sipped from his glass, then reached over to give Blair a lingering kiss, noticing that Naomi was beaming at them.  He figured that, grapes or not, they had pretty much all the luck they were ever going to need.

**Author's Note:**

> Traditional foods for New Year's Day and their meaning:  
> -Black-eyes peas, collards & cornbread: for financial luck: "peas for pennies, greens for dollars, cornbread for gold".  
> -Cakes baked in a ring mold: Ring-shaped or rounded treats bring a full circle of luck for the eaters.  
> -Grapes: eating 12 grapes at midnight, one at each stroke of the clock, brings luck for the next twelve months.  
> -Noodles: eating unbroken long noodles mean luck for a long life.
> 
> \--- courtesy of "7 lucky foods to eat on New Year's Day" from AllRecipes


End file.
